Echono urges architects to harness TETFund’s research grants for affordable housing, local building materials
Echono urges architects to harness TETFund’s research grants for affordable housing, local building materials
The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono, has called on architects and other built environment professionals to leverage the National Research Fund (FNRF) to develop indigenous building materials and affordable housing solutions.
According to the TETFund boss, the initiative is capable of addressing the country’s housing deficit and reducing dependence on imported construction materials.
Echono made the call Friday in Abuja while receiving members of the Female Architects of Nigeria (FAN) on a courtesy visit.
He noted that although TETFund’s statutory interventions were limited to universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, the National Research Fund provided a broader platform for researchers, innovators, and professionals whose projects had the potential to solve national challenges.
He declared that the Fund would host a National Research Fair in November at the Eagle Square, Abuja, where researchers and innovators from across the country would exhibit their works.
He said applications for participation would open before the end of the month through media announcements and an online submission portal.
Expressing concerns over the nation’s heavy reliance on imported construction materials, Echono said the country still “imports about 80 per cent of the materials used in the building industry despite possessing abundant natural resources and technical expertise.”
He urged architects to intensify research into locally sourced alternatives, noting that such innovations would lower construction costs, create jobs, strengthen local industries and keep more wealth within the Nigerian economy.
Echono also identified affordable housing as a priority area requiring innovative solutions, adding that TETFund was exploring practical and cost-effective housing models for its workforce.
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On the request for sponsorship to conferences and international programmes, Echono clarified that TETFund’s intervention was restricted to staff of beneficiary tertiary institutions and the Fund itself.
He added that TETFund “sponsors its architects to attend at least one continuing professional development programme every year” and encouraged professional bodies to develop programmes that would attract greater participation from the Fund’s personnel.
Earlier, the chairperson of the Female Architects of Nigeria (FAN), Arc. VA Agada, presented an FAN Award of Excellence to Echono in recognition of his outstanding public service and support for female architects.
Agada also proposed a strategic partnership between her association and TETFund in applied research, affordable, and climate-responsive housing, professional training, mentorship, and demonstration projects aimed at improving housing delivery and promoting sustainable building practices in the country. BLUEPRINT
